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This thread is to be used for discussing the entire episodes of Nisemonogatari ... your thoughts about the show, overall impressions, expectations and hopes about Blu-Ray/DVD-exclusive footage etc.

A few subjects you might want to ramble on about:

General impression of the series.

Opinions on the overall story, writing & plot devices.

Thoughts about the animation quality.

Characters/Character Design

Voice Acting

Which kind of footage (Blu-Ray/DVD-exclusive) you feel you'd really like to see.

What the show meant to you.

What could the creators/animators/writers have done better.

And so on.

The poll represents your total series rating. In other words, how you would rate all the episodes combined (1-10)? If you'd rather rate the whole series by technical/artistic merits, you can do so. An example:

The Monogatari franchise and I have had quite a rocky relationship. At first I had dropped the series within 1 episode due to the LSD-inspired visuals and that stupid panty shot in the beginning. But after a few false starts, I found that this was a threaded story with layers of interest. It's definitely a series where the journey is more important than the destination, which is why the nature of the stories frequently end up anticlimactic; you were supposed to appreciate the interactions it took to get there.

Still, I was really unable to form any kind of attachment to the characters aside from being wacky caricatures, more akin to Family Guy but better, and man that analogy is one I'll be bringing up.

Of course, one thing that I never liked was Shaft's tendency to be unable to manage a schedule and trying to pass off half baked things as complete, while promising to fix it on bluray. While this might have been an endearing trait of them, I don't think I'll give them any preferential treatment.

So fortunately, the second incarnation of this series on anime has provided us with more semblance of effort when it comes to production values, at the very least, and offer us what Bake didn't.

Visuals: 7
"Oh, there's your budget!"

Face it, Nisemonogatari looks way better than Bake. There's much less of substituting a word for an actual scene and the character designs are definitely on the sexier side. I was also appreciative that they didn't try to blind me with text walls and the few attempts meshed well with the viewing experience. So in this area, Shaft had shown some restraint. Also, despite me disputing the fanservice was appropriate or not, Shinbo did indeed get some good shots in. Maybe a bit too much.

Of course, the series' key weakness is still lack of (or nonexistent) movement. The visuals also took a dump near the end of the series (Oh, is that why you needed more fanservice) and the finale was horrifically disappointing, but I guess they'll fix it on Bluray! Just like how they fixed the first OP.

It's very watchable still. I couldn't say this about season 1.

Audio: 8
"1,2... 1,2,3,4!"
Since you can never rely on this series for visuals, the sound department would often help a lot for this series. Props to Kamiya Hiroshi for getting those ridiculous lines across. He's just good in delivering lines in a deadpan fashion. And then there's Maaya Sakamoto that graced the series' presence with Shinobu that made her character literally come alive. I can't think of a single VA that did a bad job. Eri Kitamura was perfect for Karen, for example. And as much as I don't like Hitagi, Chiwa Saito has a pretty seductive voice.

The BGM was good for the most part, but superb during the tense moments. Of course, the series rarely fails with OPs/EDs, except Tsukushi's OP. It would seem like both series had one bad OP because they were trying too hard to be cute.

Stand out song is definitely Naisho no Hanashi, for it suited the atmosphere of the series well. Maybe a bit too well.

Misc. Enjoyment: 8
"Oh God, Shinbou is hot!"
Despite my negative attitude towards what Shinbo/Isin finds sexy, at least I can agree with them about Shinobu. It's good enough to warrant her own section, because the moment she started talking was the moment I started to really enjoy the series. Still, they shafted her anyways.

Tsubasa and Snail managed to also hold their own with few, but precious conversations. The interactions with the sisters in the earlier episodes was also far superior in creating a laugh or two. Those silly conversations have always held me around, and to me is what the franchise is all about.

Also, there definitely is a lot of meta stuff going on. It's always been a self-aware franchise, though sometimes they might have tried to be too clever. Still, where else can I find crazy head tilting? And that's why I tuned in every week.

This category was really only to talk about how hot Shinobu is- I never said I was fair; it's just that 500 year old donut loving vampires are cool.

Overall 6.5/10
I'm gonna say 7 for the poll. It was a good watch, regardless of hiccups and personal disagreements. Overall, despite the advantages over Bake, I still think that was a better show. Still, I felt the series could have (and did) go above Bake for a while, so the end result was disappointing when I perceived the show coming apart at the seams at the end. I'll probably need a break from Shaft antics for a while though.

Spoiler for A quick definition of the overall score:

9-10: Favorites Material. Must have created some kind of major emotional impact or changed the way I view anime, or caused me to develop a new outlook on an issue. Usually a 10 succeeds in doing all of these things and makes me continue wanting more from anime. Recommended without doubt to people

8: Solid and generally very consistent quality, generally recommended to most people. Usually anime that excels in many aspects that I have no qualm with but didn’t impact me are placed here.
7: Quality anime. It showed a distinct effort at points but has too many flaws; this is the baseline for recommendations

6: Entertaining. It managed to amuse or entertain me on a number of levels but has too many inconsistencies to be considered solid. I generally only recommend these to people who already have interest in the genre. This is generally considered average or basic entertainment

5: Whatever. Not bad and useful for the occasional lulz, but not really recommended as you could be watching better things.

4: Generic and uninspired stuff. Is rarely entertaining, but definitely not worth it

3: It feels like your screen is insulting you. Who made this shit?

1-2: The exact opposite of 9-10. It may have impacted me, but in the bad way. It makes me want to ragequit and never watch anime again.

Animation wise I definitely thought this was on par with Bake, even though they were a bit different.

I was definitely not as pleased with the dialogue as I was with Bake, but I still loved it.

Overall I'd probably give this series an 8, maybe a 9. A big part of that for me though is knowing it will be continued, if this was the end of the (monogatari) series, it would get a lower rating.

I will be very sad not getting to wait for it every Saturday now.

The fan service aspects of Nise definitely didn't bother me because I don't like fan service, they bothered me because of how much I like the characters/settings/stories/etc in monogatari, that even if I enjoyed this particular kind of fan service, in this setting it felt like a waste of time.

I'm voting for 10/10 but truthfully if I'm an actual critic it actually wouldn't get this high.

Animation Quality: 10

This season is definitely better in terms of animation than Bake. Shaft clearly have the money this time to support the series. There were less cuts and the scene flowed better too. The fact that Araragi's house has a freaking Catholic church in his bathroom shows that the animators have a lot of resource to spend.

Voice Actors: 10

There are two things I can always count on with Shaft and one of them is choice of voice actors. There is never an instance where I doubted the choices they made in this department. Before the series started there was this huge debate whether or not Aya Hirano was going to get the part of Shinobu. In the end Maaya Sakamoto got the part and it was clearly the correct choice. Hiroshi Kamiya also did a great job at reprising Araragi. The dude just simply has the talent to play characters that retort, what can I say.

Script: 10

Truthfully, this is the part that I would take points off if I had the heart to do it. This time around I simply do not agree with the episode distribution and choice on season length. Nise in my opinion is a 13 episode series. It would have been nice if Nise 1 had more stuff included in it but it was tolerable at least. Nise 2 on the other hand simply took out way too much. I agree that the toothbrush needed to have one episode for itself but the other three didn't have any of the scenes I expected to see. These scenes aren't just filler scenes but actual ones that are important to the series as a whole. I'm expecting these scenes to be added to the Blu-ray Shaft, I have my eyes on you with this one.

Soundtrack: 10
The other thing that I can count Shaft on is sound and music. They simply don't fuck around with this department. I guess it really does have to do with the fact that if animation is gonna take a hit then at least use music to back it up. This time however both animation and music is there so it's even better. The ED wasn't as good as the Bake's but I guess they wanted to use ClariS's twin image for the Fire Sisters and also because they had success with them during Madoka. The OPs were simply amazing. Meg Rock knows her music and the seiyus' got the stuff to back it up as well.

Editing: 10

The editing was pretty decent all around. However I couldn't help but feel Shaft started to get lazy during the last half of the series.

Enjoyment: 10

I enjoyed it for the most part and now the only thing left is pray for extra scenes in the Blu-ray.

Emotional Involvement: 10

I have to say I was really scared when they announced this was going to be animated. The bath scene with Shinobu and the toothbrush scene were both quite saucey and I didn't know if they were going to censor it. With this in mind my emotions hit the roof when I saw both scenes' full glory. The incest in the series also had my heart pounding as well.

Over already. It felt like a mere gust of wind. Happiness is ephemeral, I suppose.

Visuals.

This show looks gorgeous. From the radiant character designs to Shinbou's elegant direction, this show retains the unique flare of its predecessor, and even improves upon some of it. While there are nitpicks to be had here and there, my eyes were plastered to the screen throughout each and every episode. There's always something interesting going on, always something pretty to look at, always some neat little detail you can pick up on. Visually, Nisemonogatari stands strong, and lives up to the legacy of Bakemonogatari.

Sound and Music.

Looking at the openings and endings, Bakemonogatari is a tough act to follow. It produced some of the most memorable openings in recent memory, and the ending was hauntingly beautiful. It stays with me to this day. Nisemonogatari does its best to keep up, and for the most part, it is successful. All three openings sound fantastic, and even better, they fit the atmosphere of the series perfectly. The ending, I feel, isn't quite up to snuff. It's not bad at all, but it's nowhere near as memorable or beautiful.

The actual soundtrack delivers in spades as well. The music not only accentuates the scenes it is used in, they also leave a strong impression on their own. Whenever I heard the first note of a track, I knew I was in for a good time, and I'll no doubt be listening to this soundtrack for months to come.

Lastly, the voice acting is phenomenal. Bakemonogatari was already a dream come true for me, assembling so many of my favorite seiyuu in one series. Saito Chiwa, Horie Yui, Kamiya Hiroshi, Sawashiro Miyuki and Hanazawa Kana? Pinch me. Add to that Kitamuri Eri and Sakamoto Maaya and you've got a show whose voice-acting transcends rating. It's no hyperbole to call it "sublime." Absolutely perfect.

Characters.

I'll quickly go over the returning champions, and then move on to the new contenders. Senjougahara has always been my favorite, and though her scenes are somewhat few and far in between, she's the same old girl I fell in love with years ago. The first few minutes of the first episode were incredible, and I've rewatched that part several times. Nadeko is still just as cute (which is cute indeed), but has become a lot more forward. Taking her in this direction worked well for me; though her presence was little more than a blip on the radar. Kanbaru... what can I say? Not much of substance, but I can't complain. I simply can't. Hanekawa has never been my favorite (cat alter ego notwithstanding), but her interactions with Senjougahara made for some very amusing, and unexpected, scenes. Araragi remains a solid lead, though I must admit that his lust for Karen sort of rubs me the wrong way, especially when he has arguably the most awesome girlfriend in existence.

On to the new additions, whom Nise's fate rests with.

Araragi Karen. Karen had an incredible zest for life, a great attitude and some massive backbone. She lit up the screen, and I was always anxious to see what she would say, or do, next. She can hold her ground, and she looks great. A fine character all around.
Araragi Tsukihi. Although Tsukihi played a smaller role and a weaker plot arc, I still found her a great addition to the cast. Her exaggerated facial expressions, reactions and voice made for some great comedy. Like her sister Karen, I was always waiting to see how she'd react to the situation, and she rarely disappointed. She's platinum awesome.

Shinobu. Sakamoto Maaya really brought Shinobu to life. Every brooding monologue and every haughty comment really made her shine. She has a great personality, and has gorgeous golden hair. She can dance with the best of them when she imbibes some blood too.

General thoughts and enjoyment.

Nisemonogatari is easily the most entertaining series I've seen this year, and I suspect it will stay near the top of the list even as 2013 approaches. The dialogue, characters and visuals all come together in a wonderful collage of pure joy. Minor gripes aside, Nisemonogatari offers most of the traits that make anime a wonderful medium. It is ever-so-slightly weaker than Bakemonogatari on the whole, but there is certainly no shame in that, as Bake is one of my absolute favorite shows from the last five years.

Some of my personal favorite scenes from the series: The first five minutes of episode one (the dialogue was spellbinding), Kanbaru (every damn scene she was in, she's a goddess), Araragi and Karen's battle, the scene where Araragi runs into Karen doing a hand-walk, Shinobu and Araragi's long discussion in the bath, and last, but not least; Arargi's brief conversation with Nadeko on the phone.Final Rating: 9 (Fantastic)

It's solely based on how Shaft successfully delivered the content of novel most effectively. Sadly, Tsukihi arc clearly left out so many dialogues that was actually defining moments of the series, such as Shinobu's SUN IS MY ENEMY part and Kaiki gags. That last episode was underwhelming - the gold of nisemonogatari is not its story, but its DIALOGUE. Shaft failed to bring those out, especially in Tsukihi part.

Nisemonogatari, from the start, was a novel that was not meant to be amazing in terms of plot and story. In terms of characterisation, Nisioisin clearly likes to destroy established characters in sequels in any different means, and that obviously happened in this series. Nisemonogatari is more like side-story, Nisio isin's attempt of playing with character concepts and personality. So, I don't really care.

The defining moment of the series was tooth brush play by Gomi and Karen. There was no problem with the fan-service of Nisemonogatari when they were all exactly how it was described in the novel. The problem is when they devotes too much on them, they did not have more time to invest on those dialogue that makes the series gold.

I still give 9, because Shaft animation and direction is just gorgeous. However, if you actually look at 'direction', not animation quality, Bakemonogatari was better. Oishi's currently working on Kizumonogatari, thus we couldn't have his much surreal touch on scenes and camera works.

Voted the series a 9. I actually avoided watching this during the weekly run because I felt as though this was the type of series that I just had to watch on one go. I added a twist to that. I watched whole of Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari in one go all through yesterday. And while it may have been more obvious to me as to the complaints I am hearing had I not done so, as far as I am concerned, Nisemonogatari was a perfect followup to Bakemonogatari. It just felt very natural. And well, I am a sucker for imouto moe and Shinobu is obviously way too awesome so there was no way I wouldn't rate this show high I guess.

I do have some complaints though.

I really really wish they had given the last arc more episodes. It kind of was flowing normally but then suddenly went into powerdrive and ended abruptly. It wasn't all that bad but when a show that relied on lots and lots of roundabout dialogue and subtle touches suddenly resolves itself in an adrenaline rush, it just didn't feel right. I don't know if it was due to budget concerns or an aesthetic choice but I don't agree with it. Of course, I am platinum mad because I wanted to see more of Tsukihi, not particularly because she is cute and sexy but because she has that awesomely delicious manner of acting.

I don't really care about fanservice because for one reason or another, I can totally see the characters in the show doing what they were doing. They are all absurd oddities that live right at the boundary between normalcy and perversion after all. Certainly, there might have been more focus on the perversion side of the coin than the rest, but in no way does telling a saucy story from a raunchy perspective take away from the characters imho. It's just a different point of view. It's a heck lot better to do a whole story in this perspective than just superficially use it occasionally to entice the audience. In that sense, the fact that Nisemonogatari was written in as saucy a manner is something that makes me bow to the author, even if I despise the popularity of the author.

And given the nature of the source, the anime did a commendable job bringing it to life. In fact, I dare say the lack of "fanservice" would have been weirder. And since I don't agree with that accusation that there was too much fanservice or that the cast was used as a cheap display that led to deterioration of their character, I rate this show much higher than some other folks I expected to have similar opinions with.

They could still have shown us the kiss between the hornet and the devil boy. And perhaps include an animated anecdote about how Tsubasa ended up with her short hair etc. though.

Simply put, I am saying that there wasn't enough fanservice and certainly not enough of it overall. If it had lasted just a bit longer and not rushed through, this would have been a perfect show.

I suppose I am the rare breed in that I enjoyed Nisemonogatari more than Bakemonogatari. It actually took me a lot of convincing to even go through Bakemonogatari. And I had a really harsh opinion of it until I read more and watched it again etc. In contrast, I thoroughly enjoyed Nisemonogatari on my first watch. Of course, my being a sucker for imouto moe, finally something from kiss-shot, lots of allusions from Koyomi as to just how high his opinion of the catgirl is, and how wonderful she looked in her short hair and contacts, and there being little of Hitagi who looked fugly in short hair etc. all added to my entertainment I guess. Occasional wandering pilgimage was just icing on the cake.

My impressions would be: dammit, 3 years (I think) of yearning to see Senjougahara animated again but what I got was less than satisfying and Nise turned out to be a beautiful love story between a guy and his sisters....

Having been spoiled beforehand, I was expecting to see the changed senjougahara but that final scene might as well have been the afterlife.... >.<

I'll just be honest
I'm not a Monogatari series' fan... but I'll give Nisemonogatari 9/10 score

honestly, I think Nise is better than Bake
I won't give a proper rating but just giving points :

1. The appearance of Bake's characters are handled well.. although they're just random supporting characters
2. Kaiki and Kagenui are not as awesome as Oshino... I think this is why I can't give a perfect score for Nise. The arc's finale is little dull
3. Araragi family's relationship is the focus of Nise. I always curious about this since Bake and Nise really explained it well. I can see how the sisters actually respect their vamp's bro and almost become incest after his bro really worked hard for their sake (facing Kaiki and Kagenui and also cleaned up their mess)
4. The birth of new fetish... HAHAHA!!! Toothbrush FTW... now I can't see toothbrushing in same way anymore
5. Every arc actually filled with too much unnecessary scene. The real problem will appear in part 3 or part 4 of each arc
6. The most highlight part from Nise is Shinobu. At first, I never care about her because of Bake (c'mon! she really doesn't do anything in Bake). After reading a doujin, I'm quite understand the role and become her fans. I'm waiting for Kizu but I never expect Nise will satisfy me because of Shinobu-Araragi relationship's development. Her 18-year old appearance, donut loving scene, her teasing gesture and word, and finally her honesty in expressing her opinion to Araragi are very important point for me

Visual is very good as usual (great job, SHAFT), BGM is also good, Soundtrack is also the best (Claris.. yay!)

9/10... that's all! Now let's wait for Kizu.....

nothing to do here

__________________

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il be short on this and say I give it 9/10.
completely enjoyed and had fun throughout the series. as some people said, there were some parts that felt rushed near the end and some characters seem lacking for appearance(WHERE'S THE FINAL BOSS!)

I don't get this "wincest" thing. Is there a cultural thing I'm missing? And what is with the ecchi upgrade?

Spoiler for ep10:

When one of the sisters died in such a brutal and unsatisfying manner...

I had to stop and throw my episodes in the trashbin.

What the hell happened? ... Please tell me the light novels are better at presenting this. I thought about buying at least the Bakemonogatari books someday even though my Japanese isn't really at that level yet.

When one of the sisters died in such a brutal and unsatisfying manner...

I had to stop and throw my episodes in the trashbin.

What the hell happened? ...

Wait... please tell me that you didn't stop watching at that point... what happens next is the important part! If you just watched that scene and then stopped in a blind rage... well, I guess I can see why you're mad, but you're really rushing to conclusions.

Anyway, Nise- ended up being better than Bake- IMHO. The art improved despite the new characters and looks, backgrounds were more creative and richer. Animation appeared... in Bake- it was almost absent. BGM was fitting and prevelent. Songs were also good, but half as many. The new characters were thoroughly developed, as well as all the old ones to varying degrees too.

But the best part was that the storytelling was more focused. Bake- struggled at times to integrate ecchi with mystery, but in Nise- it was seamless.

On the other hand, as an adaption, it had problems with the short duration skipping important parts, especially for continuing animating the franchise, and confused a lot of viewers because it aired before Kizu-

So overall 10/10 ignoring the source, 9/10 strictly considering it as adaption.

Wait... please tell me that you didn't stop watching at that point... what happens next is the important part! If you just watched that scene and then stopped in a blind rage... well, I guess I can see why you're mad, but you're really rushing to conclusions.